Apple has told suppliers to cut production of its latest iPhones by about 10pc over the coming quarter, again trimming its own projections for output of its flagship device.

The smartphone giant made the request before last week's shock reduction in its sales outlook, 'Nikkei' said, citing unidentified sources as saying.

It is the second time in as many months that Apple has scaled back its iPhone forecasts, the Japanese media outlet added.

The pullback covered all three latest models from the cheapest XR to the XS Max, it said.

Apple lowered its revenue outlook for the first time in almost two decades on January 2, citing weaker demand in China.

The move stoked concerns not just about the health of the consumer electronics market but also a faster-than-expected slowdown of the world's second-largest economy.

The Cupertino, California-based company is now targeting overall production volume of both old and new iPhones of 40 million to 43 million units in the March quarter, down from 47 million to 48 million previously, the Nikkei reported, citing another person familiar. That's a sharp decline from the 52.2 million it reported selling in 2018's March quarter.